Associate Director of Nursing Education & Professional Practice

Job overview

The Associate Director of Nursing Education & Professional Practice is a senior leadership post and a key member of the Chief Nursing Officer's Leadership Team. The post holder will have specific responsibility for:

• Developing relationships with Universities across the UK that ensure a successful flow of new nurses into practice to support the nurse recruitment strategy
• Develop systematic and creative ways of maximising conversion of placement students into qualified nursing staff in Sussex Partnership services and report on these at the relevant forums.
• Create forums for student support that maximise wellbeing and retention
• Delivering training on development programmes and training projects
• Creating opportunities to market training to external organisations
• Supporting the Chief Nursing Officer and Chief People Officer in all areas pertaining to nurse training and education agenda for the Trust, including a developing and delivering a strategy for nurse education and continuing professional development.
• Using skills and expertise drawn from across healthcare and Higher Education Institute settings to promote effective multi-professional training and education at pre and post registration levels.

Main duties of the job

• Improving education and training quality and outcomes
• Workforce Planning and Development
• Enabling Education Strategy & Development through clinical leadership
• Education and Training Development
• Enhancing Patient/Service User Care
• Developing an excellent organisation
• Research, project management & Development
• Financial and Physical Resources
• Staff Management
• Information Management
• Policy and Service Development

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Job Specific Responsibilities:

Improving education and training quality and outcomes.

• To lead on the implementation and delivery of relevant aspects of the nursing strategy and the Education, Training and CPD annual plan.
• In conjunction with the People and Culture Directorate oversee the development of the nursing training needs analysis on an annual basis.
• To support the Chief Nursing Officer, members of the executive team and board of directors in developing evidenced based education and training approaches and strategies to enhance the role of nurses and improve patient experience as part of delivery through the provision of expert advice, training and support as required.
• To support the Chief Nursing Officer to develop robust evaluation tools to ensure the department has clear feedback mechanisms for all teaching and training. This should include the use of peer review and evaluation processes for all teachers and trainers who contribute to teaching and training sessions.

Workforce Planning and Development:

• Identify and develop opportunities for role advancement for nurses. Work closely with the Chief Nursing Officer, members of the executive team, Education and Training and Human Resources (HR) to facilitate workforce redesign programmes.
• Contribute to the delivery of Human Resources Strategies. Liaise with Human Resources Directorate and clinical services to co-ordinate recruitment and retention initiatives aimed at reducing nurse vacancies and matching recruitment to the delivery of interventions required on care pathways.
• Contribute to the delivery of the Trust’s business plan, providing leadership for nurses and foster a culture of professionalism, compassion and excellence in all aspects of the delivery of patient care.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of strategies for nurse education, providing professional leadership and fostering a culture of professionalism, compassion and excellence in all aspects of the delivery of patient care.
• In collaboration with the Education and Training and HR directorates develop strategies that identify the learning and development needs of nurses.

Enabling Education Strategy & Development through clinical leadership:

• Maintain clinical currency by engaging in ongoing clinical practice – a minimum of one day per month.
• Support the management of educational contracts ensuring best value, quality and flexibility in design and delivery and co-ordinate performance review activities.
• Contribute as a senior clinical leader to the annual training plan for the Education and Training Department.
• Contribute as a senior clinical leader to education and training practice development initiatives to disseminate evidence-based practice and connect practice development to the wider systems of care and policy drivers.
• To work collaboratively across the health and social care sector at a regional and national level to ensure clinicians and clinical leaders are supported o deliver improvements in patient care and safety through education and training.

Education and Training Development:

• Teach specialist interventions to large groups of staff across disciplines with a range of knowledge and expertise.
• Liaise with partner organisations to ensure that identified educational needs are met through a range of educational programmes that deliver fitness to practice.
• Attend meeting with Higher Education Institutions as appropriate. Identify and promote multi- professional learning activities.
• Work as an honorary University Lecturer in pre and post registration professional education. Provide leadership to mental health teaching teams.
• Advise senior academics on the Trusts strategic vision for post registration professional education and training.
• Provide university teaching of pre and post-registration care professionals at degree to doctorate level.
• Provide mental health and education research supervision to multi-professional students who are studying at degree to doctorate level.
• Provide line management to a team of senior clinical professional staff delivering nurse education development and to other senior multi-professional staff as required.

Enhancing Patient/Service User Care:

• Lead and coordinate the identification and formulation of evidence-based nursing practice and guidelines to be included in training and education.
• Establish and develop systems for the dissemination of research and evidence in nursing practice to be included in teaching and learning opportunities working in close collaboration with the research department.
• Develop opportunities for individuals and teams to network and share excellence in teaching and education practice.
• Provide links with operational leads for discussion and dissemination of developments in professional education.
• Promote a culture of dignity and respect for patients and their relatives /carers.
• Provide expert professional advice and support to the Chief Nursing Officer to ensure the present and future nursing workforce is skilled to delivery excellent patient focused and cost- effective care linked to care packages and care pathways.
• Provide strategic advice to ensure service users receive appropriate evidence based interventions and determine pathways of care from a range of options through up to date education and training provision.
• Within the field of nurse education, lead the development of the evidence base for care, by keeping up to date with national initiatives and contributing to the body of knowledge through regular publications and engagement in national forums.
• Initiate and lead changes in practice through education and training to support the development of high standards of service user care particularly in situations where precedents do not exist.

Developing an excellent organisation:

• To monitor, interpret and quality assure progress against deliverables, noting that these may often require adjustments specifically in relation to the complex corporate business agenda, strategic objectives and the business planning process
• To support the development of business plans and provide expert strategic and policy advice and guidance on all areas of the business.
• To actively manage and support the development of individuals and the team through appraisal, personal development planning, coaching and mentoring
• To work in partnership with others and as part of cross directorate teams to deliver successful outcomes
• To support the organization’s ways of working, model its values and champion the NHS Constitution.
• To ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff within the department
• To ensure compliance with all confidentiality and governance requirements within the department
• To adhere to the NHS Managers Code of Conduct and any other relevant professional codes of conduct at all times
• To ensure regular, productive and open communications with staff and teams who they lead.

Research, project management & Development:

• In conjunction with the Director of Research develop strategic partnerships with academic institutions and other partner organisations to identify research, teaching and development opportunities for multi-professional collaboration.
• Promote a culture where individuals and teams are encouraged to develop personal and professional knowledge and skills.
• Represent nurse education on the Trust Research and Development and Quality Committees.
• Collaborate with academics at partner Universities on mental health and education focused research projects.
• Lead on audit and research of evidence based practice and use findings to improve the quality of care.
• Develop evaluation tools for the assessment of new education and training developments, enhancing the evidence base for education and training practices
• In conjunction with the Chief Nursing Officer lead on research proposals and studies, relevant to education/a specialist area of clinical practice, publishing and presenting the results locally and nationally in conjunction with the research department.
• Support and supervise other colleagues in the implementation of research studies and writing for publication.
• Develop and evaluate models of clinical supervision and reflection for care professionals in order to support professional practice and improvements in patient care.
• Provide evidence required for external assessments and scrutiny. Lead the team in the delivery of project plans, allocating tasks as appropriate, identifying risks, issues and dependencies, considering best practice and current options and ultimately making decisions in the best interest of the patient.
• Pro-actively manage stakeholders, respond to and resolve conflict between different stakeholders when this arises through facilitation or other appropriate mechanisms.
• Ensure the flexibility of response and care as required, to meet conflicting/changing requirements.
• Responsible for the planning and organisation of numerous events/meetings. Ensuring communication tools are used to their maximum value for circulating the minutes, agenda and presentations in a timely manner.

Financial and Physical Resources:

• Act in a way that is compliant with Standing Financial Instructions in the discharge of budget management responsibilities.
• Budget holder for assigned function/team, budget setting with the Chief Nursing Officer. Responsible for ensuring adherence to the budget and ongoing monitoring of expenditure against budget and ensuring the appropriate documentation is available for scrutiny.
• Responsible for delivering corporate cost improvement targets.
• Identify products, equipment, services and facilities for assigned activities, achieving stakeholder buy-in as required. Placing orders and signing invoices, keeping mindful of budget limitations.

Staff Management:

• Directly manages a team of staff, responsible for day-to-day work assigned to Team.